Glendale coach drowns in lake

Volunteer assistanton the football staff remembered as a 'great role model' for kids

Jul. 15, 2013

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A Glendale High School volunteer assistant football coach drowned Sunday in Bull Shoals Lake near Pontiac in southern Ozark County.

The body of Terrence Christian, 41, was recovered just before 11 a.m. Monday by a search team headed by the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office and the water patrol division of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

According to a release from Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed, Christian was swimming with family members about 3:30 p.m. Sunday near Cow Pen Cove when he disappeared after going under water.

Glendale football coach Tyler Overstreet said the Falcons remembered Christian as a charismatic coach, but one who got his point across without raising his voice.

When Overstreet had a volunteer opening on his staff when he took over the program last year, he was happy to have heard from Christian.

Christian had been working at Parkview the previous year and coached Overstreet in Nixa summer baseball when he was in high school. Overstreet tabbed Christian as a volunteer assistant with the defensive backs.

“He was a great role model for young kids,” Overstreet said. “He’s one of those people who just had a special knack for making you feel wanted and making you feel appreciated.”

The players looked up to Christian, Overstreet said, adding that often dozens of kids surrounded Christian during water breaks to be around him.

“His personality, everybody gravitates to it; and we definitely lost a great one,” Overstreet said.

Overstreet met with the players Monday morning, sharing stories about the coach and talking through the grieving process.

“He had a way of getting his point across without having to raise his voice. The kids would just run through a brick wall,” Overstreet said. “He was just a positive guy.”